Tank Vessel and Marine Transportation-Related Facility Response Plans for Hazardous Substances, 9276-9278 [2011-3568]
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9276
Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 33 / Thursday, February 17, 2011 / Proposed Rules
§ 100.35–T05–0046 Special Local
Regulations for Marine Events; Severn
River, Spa Creek and Annapolis Harbor,
Annapolis, MD.
DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND
SECURITY
Coast Guard
jlentini on DSKJ8SOYB1PROD with PROPOSALS
(a) Regulated area. The following
location is a regulated area: All waters
of the Spa Creek and Annapolis Harbor,
within lines connecting the following
positions: From position latitude
38°58′34″ N, longitude 076°29′05″ W,
thence to position latitude 38°58′27″ N,
longitude 076°28′55″ W, and from
position latitude 38°58′53″ N, longitude
076°28′34″ W to position latitude
38°58′21″ N, longitude 076°28′26″ W.
All coordinates reference Datum NAD
1983.
(b) Definitions: (1) Coast Guard Patrol
Commander means a commissioned,
warrant, or petty officer of the U.S.
Coast Guard who has been designated
by the Commander, Coast Guard Sector
Baltimore.
(2) Official Patrol means any vessel
assigned or approved by Commander,
Coast Guard Sector Baltimore with a
commissioned, warrant, or petty officer
on board and displaying a Coast Guard
ensign.
(c) Special local regulations: (1) The
Coast Guard Patrol Commander may
forbid and control the movement of all
vessels and persons in the regulated
area. When hailed or signaled by an
official patrol vessel, a vessel or person
in the regulated area shall immediately
comply with the directions given.
Failure to do so may result in expulsion
from the area, citation for failure to
comply, or both.
(2) All Coast Guard vessels enforcing
this regulated area can be contacted on
marine band radio VHF–FM channel 16
(156.8 MHz).
(3) The Coast Guard will publish a
notice in the Fifth Coast Guard District
Local Notice to Mariners and issue a
marine information broadcast on VHF–
FM marine band radio announcing
specific event date and times.
(d) Enforcement period: This section
will be enforced from 6 a.m. until 9 a.m.
on May 14, 2011.
Dated: February 3, 2011.
Brian W. Roche,
Commander, U.S. Coast Guard, Acting
Captain of the Port Baltimore.
[FR Doc. 2011–3570 Filed 2–16–11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 9110–04–P
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33 CFR Parts 154 and 155
[Docket No. USCG–1998–4354 and USCG–
1999–5705]
RIN 2115–AE87 and 2115–AE88
Tank Vessel and Marine
Transportation-Related Facility
Response Plans for Hazardous
Substances
Coast Guard, DHS.
Proposed rules; reopening of
comment period.
AGENCY:
ACTION:
The Coast Guard is reopening
the comment periods on two proposed
rules before issuing final rules regarding
Tank Vessel Response Plans for
Hazardous Substances (USCG–1998–
4354) and Marine TransportationRelated Facility Response Plans for
Hazardous Substances (USCG–1999–
5705). The Coast Guard previously
published two notices of proposed
rulemaking (NPRMs) proposing to
require response plans for certain tank
vessels operating on the navigable
waters of the United States, as well as
marine transportation-related facilities,
that could reasonably be expected to
cause substantial harm to the
environment by discharging a hazardous
substance. The proposed regulations
were published to implement the
requirements put into place by the Oil
Pollution Act of 1990, but were never
published as final rules. Because of the
lapse in time since the NPRM
publications, the Coast Guard is
reopening the comment period to allow
for any additional or updated comments
from the public before publishing the
final rules.
DATES: Comments and related material
must either be submitted to the
appropriate online docket via https://
www.regulations.gov on or before May
18, 2011 or reach the Docket
Management Facility by that date.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments
identified by docket number USCG–
1998–4354 and/or USCG–1999–5705
using any one of the following methods:
(1) Federal eRulemaking Portal:
https://www.regulations.gov.
(2) Fax: 202–493–2251.
(3) Mail: Docket Management Facility
(M–30), U.S. Department of
Transportation, West Building Ground
Floor, Room W12–140, 1200 New Jersey
Avenue, SE., Washington, DC 20590–
0001.
(4) Hand delivery: Same as mail
address above, between 9 a.m. and 5
SUMMARY:
PO 00000
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p.m., Monday through Friday, except
Federal holidays. The telephone number
is 202–366–9329.
To avoid duplication, please use only
one of these four methods. See the
‘‘Public Participation and Request for
Comments’’ portion of the
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section
below for instructions on submitting
comments. Please submit comments to
the appropriate docket; if your
comments apply to both proposed rules,
please submit them to both dockets.
Viewing incorporation by reference
material: You may inspect the material
proposed for incorporation by reference
at room 2100, U.S. Coast Guard
Headquarters, 2100 Second Street, SW.,
Washington, DC 20593–0001 between
9 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through
Friday, except Federal holidays. The
telephone number is 202–267–6716.
Copies of the material are available as
indicated in the ‘‘Incorporation by
Reference’’ section of this preamble.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: If
you have questions on this proposed
rule, call or e-mail Raymond Martin,
Coast Guard; telephone 202–372–1449,
e-mail Raymond.W.Martin@uscg.mil. If
you have questions on viewing or
submitting material to the docket, call
Renee V. Wright, Program Manager,
Docket Operations, telephone 202–366–
9826.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Public Participation and Request for
Comments
We encourage you to participate in
this rulemaking by submitting
comments and related materials. All
comments received will be posted
without change to https://
www.regulations.gov and will include
any personal information you have
provided.
A. Submitting Comments
If you submit a comment, please
include the docket number for this
rulemaking (USCG–1998–4354 and/or
USCG–1999–5705), indicate the specific
section of this document to which each
comment applies, and provide a reason
for each suggestion or recommendation.
You may submit your comments and
material online or by fax, mail, or hand
delivery, but please use only one of
these means. We recommend that you
include your name and a mailing
address, an e-mail address, or a phone
number in the body of your document
so that we can contact you if we have
questions regarding your submission.
To submit your comment online, go to
https://www.regulations.gov, click on the
‘‘submit a comment’’ box, which will
E:\FR\FM\17FEP1.SGM
17FEP1
Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 33 / Thursday, February 17, 2011 / Proposed Rules
then become highlighted in blue. In the
‘‘Document Type’’ drop down menu
select ‘‘Proposed Rule’’ and insert
‘‘USCG–1998–4354’’ or ‘‘USCG–1999–
5705’’ in the ‘‘Keyword’’ box. Click
‘‘Search’’ then click on the balloon shape
in the ‘‘Actions’’ column. If you submit
your comments by mail or hand
delivery, submit them in an unbound
format, no larger than 81⁄2 by 11 inches,
suitable for copying and electronic
filing. If you submit comments by mail
and would like to know that they
reached the Facility, please enclose a
stamped, self-addressed postcard or
envelope.
We will consider all comments and
material received during the comment
period and may change this proposed
rule based on your comments.
B. Viewing Comments and Documents
To view comments, as well as
documents mentioned in this preamble
as being available in the docket, go to
https://www.regulations.gov, click on the
‘‘read comments’’ box, which will then
become highlighted in blue. In the
‘‘Keyword’’ box insert ‘‘USCG–1998–
4354’’ or ‘‘USCG–1999–5705’’ and click
‘‘Search.’’ Click the ‘‘Open Docket
Folder’’ in the ‘‘Actions’’ column. If you
do not have access to the internet, you
may view the docket online by visiting
the Docket Management Facility in
Room W12–140 on the ground floor of
the Department of Transportation West
Building, 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE.,
Washington, DC 20590, between 9 a.m.
and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday,
except Federal holidays. We have an
agreement with the Department of
Transportation to use the Docket
Management Facility.
C. Privacy Act
Anyone can search the electronic
form of comments received into any of
our dockets by the name of the
individual submitting the comment (or
signing the comment, if submitted on
behalf of an association, business, labor
union, etc.). You may review a Privacy
Act notice regarding our public dockets
in the January 17, 2008, issue of the
Federal Register (73 FR 3316).
jlentini on DSKJ8SOYB1PROD with PROPOSALS
D. Public Meeting
We do not now plan to hold a public
meeting. But you may submit a request
for one to either docket using one of the
methods specified under ADDRESSES. In
your request, explain why you believe a
public meeting would be beneficial. If
we determine that one would aid this
rulemaking, we will hold one at a time
and place announced by a later notice
in the Federal Register.
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II. Background
The Clean Water Act (CWA), as
amended by section 4202(a)(6) of the Oil
Pollution Act of 1990 (OPA 90), requires
owners or operators of tank vessels,
offshore facilities, and onshore facilities
to prepare response plans to mitigate
spills of both oils and hazardous
substances. Specifically, it requires the
owners and operators of those vessels
and facilities that could reasonably be
expected to cause substantial or
significant and substantial harm to the
environment to prepare and submit
response plans. These plans must
address measures to respond, to the
maximum extent practicable, to a worstcase discharge or a substantial threat of
such a discharge, of oil or a hazardous
substance into or on navigable waters,
adjoining shorelines, or the exclusive
economic zone of the United States. The
primary purpose of requiring response
plans is to minimize impact of a
discharge of oil or hazardous substances
into the navigable waters of the United
States.
In response to the Congressional
statute, the Coast Guard promulgated
several rules regarding response plans
for oil spills. The Final Rule for oil spill
response plans for vessels was
published on January 12, 1996 (61 FR
1052), and the rule for facilities
followed on February 29, 1996 (61 FR
7890).
In addition to publication of oil spill
response plan regulations, we published
proposals regarding response plans for
hazardous substances. On May 3, 1996,
we published an ANRPM addressing
vessel and facility response plans (61 FR
20084). The ANPRM discussed the
background, statutory requirements, and
possible regulatory approaches to
developing plans for hazardous
substance releases. It also posed 96
questions, and the Coast Guard
Received 42 comment letters replying to
the ANPRM.
The Coast Guard gathered additional
information to formulate hazardous
substance response plans from the
public during public meetings and a
response plan workshop. We conducted
two public meetings on July 30, 1996, in
Washington, DC, and August 5, 1996, in
Houston, TX. The Coast Guard held a
workshop and meeting in Houston, TX
to engage various stakeholders in issues
that had been identified as significant in
response to the ANPRM. The workshop
focused on four specific issues
identified in advance: (1) The role and
contents of first responders’ guides;
(2) the role and capabilities of decision
support systems; (3) chemical removal
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9277
technology; and (4) public responder
versus private responder issues.
Finally, the Coast Guard received
recommendations from advisory
committees. Under the auspices of the
Chemical Transportation Advisory
Committee (CTAC), the Hazardous
Substances Response Plan
Subcommittee was formed to develop
and recommend hazardous substance
response plan criteria for the agency’s
consideration in developing
requirements for response plans. The
subcommittee formed working groups to
address the various aspects of response
planning: Fate and effects, response
resources and methodology, and
planning process. Based on the work
done by these groups, the subcommittee
delivered a report containing findings
and recommendations, which was
considered by the Coast Guard in
developing its proposed regulations.
Based on the comments provided to
the Coast Guard from the sources listed
above, we published two separate
NPRMs proposing to require hazardous
substance response plans for tank
vessels and marine transportationrelated facilities on March 22, 1999 and
March 31, 2000, respectively (64 FR
13734 and 65 FR 17416). The intent of
the proposed regulations was to ensure
access to the necessary information and
equipment during a response to a spill
of hazardous substances, as well as to
ensure the availability of appropriate
technical expertise as necessary. The
proposed requirements allowed for
flexibility in determining how to
respond to a particular spill, given that
the disparate nature of spills of
hazardous substances do not lend
themselves to standardized procedures,
unlike the comparatively standardized
procedures for oil spill responses.
The premise of the proposed
regulations is that, through an analysis
of the required information by area
specialists, the most appropriate
response strategies for dealing with a
particular spill could be identified and
performed. Furthermore, the proposed
regulations were intended to
accommodate the use of the National
Response Team’s Integrated
Contingency Plan (ICP) Guidance,
published in the Federal Register on
June 5, 1996 (61 FR 28642). This
guidance provided a mechanism for
consolidating multiple plans into one
functional emergency response plan,
minimizing or eliminating duplication
of information. In addition, the
proposed regulations allowed plans to
be structured in such a way that oil
response plans for tank vessels and
facilities could be amended or
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Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 33 / Thursday, February 17, 2011 / Proposed Rules
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augmented to meet the requirements for
hazardous substances.
At this time, we believe that the
proposed regulations provide a basis to
develop strong, flexible plans to address
spills of hazardous substances. The
proposals also encourage plans that
make use of industry best practices and
comply with international standards.
We encourage readers to refer to the
published NPRMs and their supporting
documents for a more complete
discussion of the proposed regulations.
III. Discussion
In the Coast Guard Authorization Act
of 2010 (Pub. L. 111–281), Congress
mandated that the agency promulgate
final rules pursuant to section 311 of the
CWA within 18 months. Despite
publishing proposals for hazardous
substance response plans in 1999 and
2000, the Coast Guard has not yet issued
final rules on this issue. However, in
accordance with the legislative
mandate, we are planning to publish
final rules based on these proposals
within the required timeframe. The final
rules will consider all of the comments
received in the course of this
rulemaking action, both written and
presented in public meetings.
In this notice, the Coast Guard is
reopening the comment period for the
NPRMs on hazardous substance
response plans for tank vessels and
marine transportation-related facilities.
At this time, we are not yet responding
to comments received in response to the
NPRMs, nor are we changing the
proposals in any way. Due to the length
of time that has elapsed since the
publication of the proposed rules, we
are reopening the comment period to
solicit additional or updated comments
regarding the proposed hazardous
substance response plan regulations.
Such information may relate to changed
market conditions, industry practices,
improvements in technology, or any
other matter addressed by the proposed
regulations.
One issue on which we are
specifically not requesting comments at
this time is the expansion of the
requirement for response plans to
noxious liquid substances not covered
by 40 CFR part 116. In Section 701 of
the Coast Guard and Maritime
Transportation Act of 2004 (Pub. L.
108–219), Congress amended the CWA
by adding paragraph (B) to 33 U.S.C.
1321(j)(5), which authorized the Coast
Guard to require response plans for
noxious liquid substances not covered
under other regulations. However,
because the agency is required to
publish a final rule by April of 2012, we
will not be able to incorporate those
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15:53 Feb 16, 2011
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chemicals into the current response
plan proposals. The agency is closely
studying the matter and intends to
propose regulations in the future
regarding those additional chemicals.
IV. Incorporation by Reference
Material proposed for incorporation
by reference appears in § 155.3035 of
the proposed text. You may inspect this
material at U.S. Coast Guard
Headquarters where indicated under
ADDRESSES. Copies of the material are
available from the sources listed in
§ 155.140.
Dated: February 11, 2011.
J.G. Lantz,
Director of Commercial Regulations and
Standards, U.S. Coast Guard.
[FR Doc. 2011–3568 Filed 2–16–11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 9110–04–P
DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND
SECURITY
Coast Guard
33 CFR Part 165
RIN 1625–AA00
Safety Zone; Fourth Annual Offshore
Challenge, Sunny Isles Beach, FL
Coast Guard, DHS.
Notice of proposed rulemaking.
AGENCY:
The Coast Guard proposes to
establish a temporary safety zone in the
Atlantic Ocean east of Sunny Isles
Beach, Florida for the Fourth Annual
Offshore Challenge. The Fourth Annual
Offshore Challenge will consist of a
series of high-speed boat races. The boat
races are scheduled to take place from
Friday, June 17, 2011 through Sunday,
June 19, 2011. The temporary safety
zone is necessary for the safety of race
participants, spectators, and the general
public.
DATES: Comments and related material
must be received by the Coast Guard on
or before March 15, 2011. See the
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION for
discussion of the anticipated effective
date.
SUMMARY:
You may submit comments
identified by docket number USCG–
2011–0034 using any one of the
following methods:
(1) Federal eRulemaking Portal:
https://www.regulations.gov.
(2) Fax: 202–493–2251.
(3) Mail: Docket Management Facility
(M–30), U.S. Department of
Transportation, West Building Ground
ADDRESSES:
PO 00000
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If
you have questions on this proposed
rule, call or e-mail Lieutenant Paul A.
Steiner, Sector Miami Prevention
Department, Coast Guard; telephone
305–535–8724, e-mail
Paul.A.Steiner@uscg.mil. If you have
questions on viewing or submitting
material to the docket, call Renee V.
Wright, Program Manager, Docket
Operations, telephone 202–366–9826.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Public Participation and Request for
Comments
[Docket No. USCG–2011–0034]
ACTION:
Floor, Room W12–140, 1200 New Jersey
Avenue, SE., Washington, DC 20590–
0001.
(4) Hand delivery: Same as mail
address above, between 9 a.m. and
5 p.m., Monday through Friday, except
Federal holidays. The telephone number
is 202–366–9329.
To avoid duplication, please use only
one of these four methods. See the
‘‘Public Participation and Request for
Comments’’ portion of the
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section
below for instructions on submitting
comments.
We encourage you to participate in
this rulemaking by submitting
comments and related materials. All
comments received will be posted
without change to https://
www.regulations.gov and will include
any personal information you have
provided.
Submitting Comments
If you submit a comment, please
include the docket number for this
rulemaking (USCG–2011–0034),
indicate the specific section of this
document to which each comment
applies, and provide a reason for each
suggestion or recommendation. You
may submit your comments and
material online (via https://
www.regulations.gov) or by fax, mail, or
hand delivery, but please use only one
of these means. If you submit a
comment online via https://
www.regulations.gov, it will be
considered received by the Coast Guard
when you successfully transmit the
comment. If you fax, hand deliver, or
mail your comment, it will be
considered as having been received by
the Coast Guard when it is received at
the Docket Management Facility. We
recommend that you include your name
and a mailing address, an e-mail
address, or a telephone number in the
body of your document so that we can
contact you if we have questions
regarding your submission.
E:\FR\FM\17FEP1.SGM
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]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 33 (Thursday, February 17, 2011)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 9276-9278]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-3568]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY
Coast Guard
33 CFR Parts 154 and 155
[Docket No. USCG-1998-4354 and USCG-1999-5705]
RIN 2115-AE87 and 2115-AE88
Tank Vessel and Marine Transportation-Related Facility Response
Plans for Hazardous Substances
AGENCY: Coast Guard, DHS.
ACTION: Proposed rules; reopening of comment period.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The Coast Guard is reopening the comment periods on two
proposed rules before issuing final rules regarding Tank Vessel
Response Plans for Hazardous Substances (USCG-1998-4354) and Marine
Transportation-Related Facility Response Plans for Hazardous Substances
(USCG-1999-5705). The Coast Guard previously published two notices of
proposed rulemaking (NPRMs) proposing to require response plans for
certain tank vessels operating on the navigable waters of the United
States, as well as marine transportation-related facilities, that could
reasonably be expected to cause substantial harm to the environment by
discharging a hazardous substance. The proposed regulations were
published to implement the requirements put into place by the Oil
Pollution Act of 1990, but were never published as final rules. Because
of the lapse in time since the NPRM publications, the Coast Guard is
reopening the comment period to allow for any additional or updated
comments from the public before publishing the final rules.
DATES: Comments and related material must either be submitted to the
appropriate online docket via https://www.regulations.gov on or before
May 18, 2011 or reach the Docket Management Facility by that date.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments identified by docket number USCG-
1998-4354 and/or USCG-1999-5705 using any one of the following methods:
(1) Federal eRulemaking Portal: https://www.regulations.gov.
(2) Fax: 202-493-2251.
(3) Mail: Docket Management Facility (M-30), U.S. Department of
Transportation, West Building Ground Floor, Room W12-140, 1200 New
Jersey Avenue, SE., Washington, DC 20590-0001.
(4) Hand delivery: Same as mail address above, between 9 a.m. and 5
p.m., Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays. The telephone
number is 202-366-9329.
To avoid duplication, please use only one of these four methods.
See the ``Public Participation and Request for Comments'' portion of
the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section below for instructions on
submitting comments. Please submit comments to the appropriate docket;
if your comments apply to both proposed rules, please submit them to
both dockets.
Viewing incorporation by reference material: You may inspect the
material proposed for incorporation by reference at room 2100, U.S.
Coast Guard Headquarters, 2100 Second Street, SW., Washington, DC
20593-0001 between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, except
Federal holidays. The telephone number is 202-267-6716. Copies of the
material are available as indicated in the ``Incorporation by
Reference'' section of this preamble.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: If you have questions on this proposed
rule, call or e-mail Raymond Martin, Coast Guard; telephone 202-372-
1449, e-mail Raymond.W.Martin@uscg.mil. If you have questions on
viewing or submitting material to the docket, call Renee V. Wright,
Program Manager, Docket Operations, telephone 202-366-9826.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Public Participation and Request for Comments
We encourage you to participate in this rulemaking by submitting
comments and related materials. All comments received will be posted
without change to https://www.regulations.gov and will include any
personal information you have provided.
A. Submitting Comments
If you submit a comment, please include the docket number for this
rulemaking (USCG-1998-4354 and/or USCG-1999-5705), indicate the
specific section of this document to which each comment applies, and
provide a reason for each suggestion or recommendation. You may submit
your comments and material online or by fax, mail, or hand delivery,
but please use only one of these means. We recommend that you include
your name and a mailing address, an e-mail address, or a phone number
in the body of your document so that we can contact you if we have
questions regarding your submission.
To submit your comment online, go to https://www.regulations.gov,
click on the ``submit a comment'' box, which will
[[Page 9277]]
then become highlighted in blue. In the ``Document Type'' drop down
menu select ``Proposed Rule'' and insert ``USCG-1998-4354'' or ``USCG-
1999-5705'' in the ``Keyword'' box. Click ``Search'' then click on the
balloon shape in the ``Actions'' column. If you submit your comments by
mail or hand delivery, submit them in an unbound format, no larger than
8\1/2\ by 11 inches, suitable for copying and electronic filing. If you
submit comments by mail and would like to know that they reached the
Facility, please enclose a stamped, self-addressed postcard or
envelope.
We will consider all comments and material received during the
comment period and may change this proposed rule based on your
comments.
B. Viewing Comments and Documents
To view comments, as well as documents mentioned in this preamble
as being available in the docket, go to https://www.regulations.gov,
click on the ``read comments'' box, which will then become highlighted
in blue. In the ``Keyword'' box insert ``USCG-1998-4354'' or ``USCG-
1999-5705'' and click ``Search.'' Click the ``Open Docket Folder'' in
the ``Actions'' column. If you do not have access to the internet, you
may view the docket online by visiting the Docket Management Facility
in Room W12-140 on the ground floor of the Department of Transportation
West Building, 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE., Washington, DC 20590,
between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, except Federal
holidays. We have an agreement with the Department of Transportation to
use the Docket Management Facility.
C. Privacy Act
Anyone can search the electronic form of comments received into any
of our dockets by the name of the individual submitting the comment (or
signing the comment, if submitted on behalf of an association,
business, labor union, etc.). You may review a Privacy Act notice
regarding our public dockets in the January 17, 2008, issue of the
Federal Register (73 FR 3316).
D. Public Meeting
We do not now plan to hold a public meeting. But you may submit a
request for one to either docket using one of the methods specified
under ADDRESSES. In your request, explain why you believe a public
meeting would be beneficial. If we determine that one would aid this
rulemaking, we will hold one at a time and place announced by a later
notice in the Federal Register.
II. Background
The Clean Water Act (CWA), as amended by section 4202(a)(6) of the
Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (OPA 90), requires owners or operators of
tank vessels, offshore facilities, and onshore facilities to prepare
response plans to mitigate spills of both oils and hazardous
substances. Specifically, it requires the owners and operators of those
vessels and facilities that could reasonably be expected to cause
substantial or significant and substantial harm to the environment to
prepare and submit response plans. These plans must address measures to
respond, to the maximum extent practicable, to a worst-case discharge
or a substantial threat of such a discharge, of oil or a hazardous
substance into or on navigable waters, adjoining shorelines, or the
exclusive economic zone of the United States. The primary purpose of
requiring response plans is to minimize impact of a discharge of oil or
hazardous substances into the navigable waters of the United States.
In response to the Congressional statute, the Coast Guard
promulgated several rules regarding response plans for oil spills. The
Final Rule for oil spill response plans for vessels was published on
January 12, 1996 (61 FR 1052), and the rule for facilities followed on
February 29, 1996 (61 FR 7890).
In addition to publication of oil spill response plan regulations,
we published proposals regarding response plans for hazardous
substances. On May 3, 1996, we published an ANRPM addressing vessel and
facility response plans (61 FR 20084). The ANPRM discussed the
background, statutory requirements, and possible regulatory approaches
to developing plans for hazardous substance releases. It also posed 96
questions, and the Coast Guard Received 42 comment letters replying to
the ANPRM.
The Coast Guard gathered additional information to formulate
hazardous substance response plans from the public during public
meetings and a response plan workshop. We conducted two public meetings
on July 30, 1996, in Washington, DC, and August 5, 1996, in Houston,
TX. The Coast Guard held a workshop and meeting in Houston, TX to
engage various stakeholders in issues that had been identified as
significant in response to the ANPRM. The workshop focused on four
specific issues identified in advance: (1) The role and contents of
first responders' guides; (2) the role and capabilities of decision
support systems; (3) chemical removal technology; and (4) public
responder versus private responder issues.
Finally, the Coast Guard received recommendations from advisory
committees. Under the auspices of the Chemical Transportation Advisory
Committee (CTAC), the Hazardous Substances Response Plan Subcommittee
was formed to develop and recommend hazardous substance response plan
criteria for the agency's consideration in developing requirements for
response plans. The subcommittee formed working groups to address the
various aspects of response planning: Fate and effects, response
resources and methodology, and planning process. Based on the work done
by these groups, the subcommittee delivered a report containing
findings and recommendations, which was considered by the Coast Guard
in developing its proposed regulations.
Based on the comments provided to the Coast Guard from the sources
listed above, we published two separate NPRMs proposing to require
hazardous substance response plans for tank vessels and marine
transportation-related facilities on March 22, 1999 and March 31, 2000,
respectively (64 FR 13734 and 65 FR 17416). The intent of the proposed
regulations was to ensure access to the necessary information and
equipment during a response to a spill of hazardous substances, as well
as to ensure the availability of appropriate technical expertise as
necessary. The proposed requirements allowed for flexibility in
determining how to respond to a particular spill, given that the
disparate nature of spills of hazardous substances do not lend
themselves to standardized procedures, unlike the comparatively
standardized procedures for oil spill responses.
The premise of the proposed regulations is that, through an
analysis of the required information by area specialists, the most
appropriate response strategies for dealing with a particular spill
could be identified and performed. Furthermore, the proposed
regulations were intended to accommodate the use of the National
Response Team's Integrated Contingency Plan (ICP) Guidance, published
in the Federal Register on June 5, 1996 (61 FR 28642). This guidance
provided a mechanism for consolidating multiple plans into one
functional emergency response plan, minimizing or eliminating
duplication of information. In addition, the proposed regulations
allowed plans to be structured in such a way that oil response plans
for tank vessels and facilities could be amended or
[[Page 9278]]
augmented to meet the requirements for hazardous substances.
At this time, we believe that the proposed regulations provide a
basis to develop strong, flexible plans to address spills of hazardous
substances. The proposals also encourage plans that make use of
industry best practices and comply with international standards. We
encourage readers to refer to the published NPRMs and their supporting
documents for a more complete discussion of the proposed regulations.
III. Discussion
In the Coast Guard Authorization Act of 2010 (Pub. L. 111-281),
Congress mandated that the agency promulgate final rules pursuant to
section 311 of the CWA within 18 months. Despite publishing proposals
for hazardous substance response plans in 1999 and 2000, the Coast
Guard has not yet issued final rules on this issue. However, in
accordance with the legislative mandate, we are planning to publish
final rules based on these proposals within the required timeframe. The
final rules will consider all of the comments received in the course of
this rulemaking action, both written and presented in public meetings.
In this notice, the Coast Guard is reopening the comment period for
the NPRMs on hazardous substance response plans for tank vessels and
marine transportation-related facilities. At this time, we are not yet
responding to comments received in response to the NPRMs, nor are we
changing the proposals in any way. Due to the length of time that has
elapsed since the publication of the proposed rules, we are reopening
the comment period to solicit additional or updated comments regarding
the proposed hazardous substance response plan regulations. Such
information may relate to changed market conditions, industry
practices, improvements in technology, or any other matter addressed by
the proposed regulations.
One issue on which we are specifically not requesting comments at
this time is the expansion of the requirement for response plans to
noxious liquid substances not covered by 40 CFR part 116. In Section
701 of the Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation Act of 2004 (Pub. L.
108-219), Congress amended the CWA by adding paragraph (B) to 33 U.S.C.
1321(j)(5), which authorized the Coast Guard to require response plans
for noxious liquid substances not covered under other regulations.
However, because the agency is required to publish a final rule by
April of 2012, we will not be able to incorporate those chemicals into
the current response plan proposals. The agency is closely studying the
matter and intends to propose regulations in the future regarding those
additional chemicals.
IV. Incorporation by Reference
Material proposed for incorporation by reference appears in Sec.
155.3035 of the proposed text. You may inspect this material at U.S.
Coast Guard Headquarters where indicated under ADDRESSES. Copies of the
material are available from the sources listed in Sec. 155.140.
Dated: February 11, 2011.
J.G. Lantz,
Director of Commercial Regulations and Standards, U.S. Coast Guard.
[FR Doc. 2011-3568 Filed 2-16-11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 9110-04-P
